HARRIE’S BAGELMANIA

ELV is confused about Harrie’s Bagelmania. People love it, Jewish people really love it, and the old Las Vegas Country Club guard flocks here like it’s a Borscht Belt buffet. From the raves it gets, you’d think Henny Youngman was in the kitchen and Jackie Mason was the maitre ‘d.

We found the bacon overcooked, the bialy atrocious, the bagel standard issue, and the special smoked/peppered sable devoid of smoke and garnished with cheap, tasteless commercial pepper.

The cookies and rugalach we brought home were of that hideously overcooked, crumbly, none-too-sweet school that only lousy Italian pastry cooks and second-rate delis have perfected.

The lox-studded cream cheese was first rate, however, and the service couldn’t have been friendlier, so maybe it’s worth a second look.

Our total bill for two breakfasts and a box of cookies that quickly found their way into the trash can came to $40.

If you don’t know what a good bagel tastes like, I’m not going to waste my breath educating you.

That being said, the bagel tasted like all bagels taste west of the Hudson: like a slightly chewy piece of round bread….with neither the nice hard shell of the real thing, or that ever-so-slight, yeasty/gumminess that you get from a good baker.

Actually, I’m impressed with the few bagels Chris Herron is doing at Bread and Butter. The other day, I had a Jalapeno Cheddar version, a sacrilege, perhaps, but so good, dense and chewy, cream cheese and butter were unnecessary.